Bloomberg - Activision Blizzard Inc. said it plans to fire Chief Financial Officer Spencer Neumann for cause unrelated to the company’s financial performance and has placed him on paid leave.

Neumann will be on leave pending an opportunity to demonstrate why he shouldn’t be let go, the company said Monday in a regulatory filing. Activision, a leading video-game publisher, didn’t elaborate.

In at least a dozen U.S. departures this year, companies directly accused senior executives of misconduct unrelated to financial performance. Neumann came to the company from Walt Disney Co. and has been finance chief since May 2017. In the last fiscal year, he had total compensation of US$9.47 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, including US$2.8 million in options awards and US$4.15 million in stock awards.

Dennis Durkin, who held the post previously and serves now as chief corporate officer, will assume the duties of principal financial officer, Activision said.

Shares of Activision fell 1.2 per cent to US$46.03 in extended trading. The stock has declined 26 per cent this year.